66 minutes of wonder and amazement.

Well, I've done it. If you'd have asked me at this time last year if I could've, I woulda said "HAH! Riiiight." 19.25 miles this week. That's over 150% of what I did this time last year. Wow. The best part about it was just this morning.

You couldn't ask for better weather: 70 degrees, 65% humidity, 5mph breeze, wandering in and out of the shade on a beautiful, paved pathway through the forests and parks along the river downtown. Today called for a 7 mile run and I knew the perfect route - miles 2.5 - 4.5 were through a single- and double-track in the forest, even.

I got there and walked about a quarter mile warmup, letting U2's "Bad" warm my soul as the walk warmed my muscles... and off we went and a moderate 9-minute-mile shuffle. Thinking that I would slow that down to 9:30 or 10, I figured "always happens on the 1st mile..." and just kept on truckin'. After my first mile, to my surprise, my breathing got easier instead of harder... I did what I could to keep my pace at that 9-minute pace for fear of bringing on those dreaded shin splints that have plagued my past.

Mile two clocked in and I DID in fact rock the 9:30 pace - 19 minutes total. Happy with how easy it felt and the time itself, kept on truckin'.

Somewhere around the end of that second mile my right shin decided it wanted to prod me and keep me from forgetting that I do in fact need to fear bringing back those shin splints... and about a half mile later, my left knee chimed in on the conversation. I promptly told them to stop being sissies and kept on truckin'.

Around 4 I hit the hillwork of the run at the turn-around in the forest and my pace plummeted as I dodged roots, climbing up and down the rolling Virginia foothills, surrounded by trees, wildlife, leaping over the occasional fallen tree crossing the narrow pathway. Slowest mile yet, but who could blame me? I was watching for roots and rocks when looking ahead, and when I could afford a glimpse, I was looking up at all the shadows, leaves and beautiful colors all about.

Mile 5 was back onto the paved trail and a straight shot back to the park/car, all with a slight downhill lean. After catching my breath, I remember looking down at my watch - 8:48 it said, I then checked in with my breathing and realized just how easy it felt. Maybe it was the weather, maybe it's been all the training, but my bet is it was a glorious mixture of the two in a way that can only be described as the very reason that each and every one of us is a runner. Some days, the only way to truly enjoy the vitality we have is to run.

I decided to keep my breathing up a little - nudged it to an 8:30 6th mile. ...then the unthinkable happened: I got frightened as this thin girl in a green shirt and bobbing pony-tail passed me, scaring the snot out of me, being so focused on my music. Nobody passes me on my runs out there! I gave her a mental high-five and looked at my watch: 9:30 pace.

A 9:30 final mile? ...not on this day, thank you very much. I decided to nudge it up to an 8 and finish the run with power. I couldn't believe how good it felt to let the legs push with strength this morning. Even pushing it down to a 7:30 pace (to make up for the slow start!) felt comfortable, despite this being my longest run of the season yet.

With the quater mile cooldown, it became a 66 minute 7.25 mile run. 7 miles in a 9:09 pace. All those aches that made themselves known along the way? Gone. Not a single one made a peep once the going got tough.

Can't wait for next weekend. This truly is the reason why I run. God is so good! I can't believe he's blessed us like this. Running just makes everything better. Is it even possible? A perfect day just became more perfect - go figure.

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